Agency Jobs and Leadership

Congratulations to the winners of the 2012 Best Agencies to Work For.

The winners demonstrate that while salary and other tangible benefits are obviously important to employees, the intangibles may be more important. These can include respect, reputation and, perhaps surprisingly, leadership.

It may be easier today than in the past to keep employees. According to Deloitte’s survey, Talent 2020, four out of five (80 percent) employees plan to stay with their organizations over the next year. However just because they are staying doesn’t mean they won’t exit when the economy improves. Nearly one-third (31 percent) said they are not satisfied with their jobs.

The danger here is that employers may interpret the current state of employee stability as a sign they are doing everything right. But that could be a false sense of security. As the Deloitte report warns, a firm’s top performers are also those who will have the best opportunities when the job market improves. Also, the financial services industry runs the highest risk of losing talent, with 25 percent of employees expressing an intent to get a new job over the next 12 months.

When it comes to the matter of employee retention, leadership matters. More than six in 10 employees (62 percent) who plan to stay with their current employers report high levels of trust in corporate leadership.

Interestingly, the incentives to get employees to stay are not exactly the same as those that cause them to leave. According to the survey, the top five reasons people seek new employment are primarily non-financial:

• Lack of career progress (27 percent)
• New opportunities in the market (22 percent)
• Dissatisfaction with manager or supervisor (22 percent)
• Lack of challenge in the job (21 percent)
• Lack of compensation increases (21 percent)

However, the top five retention incentives are primarily financial:

• Additional bonuses or financial incentives (44 percent)
• Promotion/job advancement (42 percent)
• Additional compensation (41 percent)
• Flexible work arrangements (26 percent)
• Support and recognition from supervisors (25 percent).

Employees look for and trust strong leadership. According to Bill Pelster, principal, Deloitte, retaining good employees extends far beyond the HR function: “Strong leadership is one of the most important factors in differentiating between an employee who is committed to their current job and one who is constantly searching for the next career opportunity.”